hawaii: part 1.

so i have been wanting to blog about our vacay since we've gotten home but every time i sit down i get SO overwhelmed about all the stuff we did and everything that i want to include that i just give up before i start and go clean or something. so today i decided that i am going to START it, and i will just break it up into chapters so that it's easier. so here it is, chapter 1.

Sunday morning: rise at the butt-crack-o-dawn. hurriedly get ready and pack last-minute stuff as my husband frantically rushes around, giving me an update of the time every 5 minutes.

"hun-bun, it's 5:30. we have ONE HALF HOUR til we need to leave."

"hun, it's now 5:35. 25 minutes."

"hun, are you going to be ready to walk out the door in 20 minutes? cause it is 5:40."

you get the idea.

we manage to get everyone in the truck, children snuggly buckled in their seats, luggage stacked to the ceiling, back-up travel mugs of coffee and everything, and are only running about 9 minutes behind schedule. i'm silently gloating that i was such a model of efficiency getting out of the house (because for me, 9 minutes behind schedule translates to AHEAD of schedule.) we're driving along, and get about a half-hour away from home in port orchard, before it occurs to me that we MAY need the kids' birth certificates to board the plane. crap. Crap. CRAP.

nathan pulls off to the side of the road while i tear apart the truck looking for something, ANYTHING, with the airline's phone number on it. it's not on our boarding passes, and what the hell happened to the phone book that belongs in here?! damn i wish i had a smart phone right now. ach. i finally find a scrap of paper somewhere in the depths of the truck with Hawaiian Airlines phone number on it. call them to verify that yes, in fact, we DO need their birth certificates. mother-effing-fabulous. i see my level-headed husband, who normally takes everything in stride, start to panic.

there is not really anything left to do at this point but turn around and go back home and grab them, and PRAY that we make it to the airport in time. we turn around, drive home, and i dash in and out of the house in an just over a milli-second (thank goodness that i am an organized person for the most part and knew exactly where they were). we got back on the road and raced against the clock. luckily, there is not much traffic on the road at 7 on a sunday morning, and we arrived at the airport just shy of an hour before our flight left. fate was smiling on us, because there was NO line at the airline counter either, we got checked in and our luggage checked quickly, and the security line moved along at a decent rate as well.


our plane, waiting for us!!


here we gooooo!

the flight was uneventful, the kids were relatively quiet and well-behaved, and 6 hours later we arrived in honolulu. what a day. bring on the pina coladas.


finally. we have arrived in paradise.

thanks for looking, and stay tuned for part deux!

trash-to-treasure storage jar pedestals.

i loved this idea when i saw it over on eighteen25.....and i love when i have everything for a project on hand already. i took some pickle jars and some candle holders that i had, spray-painted the lids/candle holders a matte black, and then glued the jars to the candlesticks.



i still need to get something for the 3rd jar....i'm thinking some pretty jordan almonds maybe? and i love that i can change them out for the different seasons!

thanks for looking!

summer bag.

when i bought this plaid madras patchwork fabric, i didn't know exactly what it would become, i just knew it was AWESOME. after contemplating some shorts for the boy, a sundress for the girl, and a matching "dolly and me" set, i decided my first project with it would be something for ME, and it would make the perfect summer bag.


made using the "phoebe bag" pattern from artsy craftsy babe.


(obligatory bathroom mirror pic with cheesy colorsplash effect LOL)

i was so excited because they were blowing out this fabric for 4 bucks a yard at walmart. srsly, that is a STEAL, comparable fabrics at joann's retail for $15/yard. (i went back a couple days later and bought up the rest of the bolt, they had lowered the price to $3/yard. SCORE!) i used a navy quilting-weight cotton for the lining (that i found in my stash). it only used about 1/2 a yard of the patchwork, so for about $2 and materials i had on hand, i made this cute summer hobo purse! i love it.

thanks for looking!

apron/hot pad set.

april is birthdays GALORE for a ton of kids that we know. here is a gift that i made for a little girl katie goes to school with. i used the same tutorial as the last apron i made from Skip to my Lou. for the matching hot pad, i simply sandwiched some quilt batting in between 2 fabrics and quilted straight lines 1.25 inches apart, and then bound it with bias tape. i'm also giving her some shrinky dinks with the apron/hot pad (that i scored at target for $2.50!)





thanks for looking!

bibs.

lots of babies born lately.....here are a few bibs i've made for gifts. i deviated from my normal pattern and tried something new, using bias tape to bind them. i used this tutorial from Purl Bee, but omitted the pocket and used cute cotton prints on both sides with fusible fleece in the middle. it makes a little smaller bib than my usual, suitable for newborns, and i love how the bias tape contrasts nicely with the prints.

.



(excuse the crayon on my model's face)


i love the blue/brown houndstooth this one is backed with.

thanks for looking!

seattle: our anniversary in pics.

a couple weekends ago nathan and i went to seattle for the weekend for our anniversary. our anniversary is in february but nathan was in guam at the time, so here are some pics from our belated 12-year celebration.


a cherry blossom on alaskan way.


my husband banging his head on a tree because i ALREADY stopped to take a pic. and he's got a backpack on cause we hiked it this weekend with no car.


after dropping off our stuff at the hotel, we went about exploring Queen Anne. we've driven through it before, and seen the TV towers on top of it from the Space Needle, but i wanted to walk around and explore. i've got a back issue of "Sunset" that talked about the stair climb, and there are stair cases allll over Queen Anne to explore.


Queen Ann high school sits at the top of the hill and was built in 1908. it was converted into condos in 2007.


a really cool, ornate house in Queen Ann.


their front yard was gorgeous too.


TV tower at the top of Queen Ann.


we ended up hiking over to lake union, and followed that for awhile.


houseboats. we ended up at a little place right by the fremont bridge called the Nickerson Street Saloon, where we enjoyed a late lunch.


we hiked back to our hotel on the other side of Queen Ann, this is on an urban hiking trail in Kinnear Park.


we stopped back by our hotel to freshen up a little and then headed over to the underworld tour. it was a hoot and our tour guide (a girl named "Forrest") was a stitch. i'm glad i finally crossed this off of my bucket list after living here for 6 years.


the state hotel. you could rent a room here for 75¢ (per hour LOL) it was utilized by many of seattle's early "seamstresses". ahem.


after the tour we stopped for a midnight bite at local 360, who had THE most delish macaroni and cheese. it was YUM. (i snapped this shot the next day while walking around.) then we headed back to our hotel where we both COLLAPSED. i had worn my running watch around on friday just to see how far we went and we ended up putting in over 13 miles. good training, if nothing else.


the next morning after enjoying a yummy breakfast buffet at the hotel, we took a cab to nathan's favorite store, the REI flagship store. (i'd had enough hiking by this point.) here he is standing in the front of it. afterwards we went to the retail district and walked around Pacific Place and Westlake Center. we saw the movie "Paul" (okay, not quite as funny as i'd hoped for) and then just strolled around the streets of seattle for a bit, before going back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.


we had reservations at the Metropolitan Grill, which several people had recommended to us. it did not disappoint. the atmosphere was outstanding, and the food (however pricey) was fabulous. the best part? the ONION RINGS. they were HUGE.


sunday before heading home we stopped by Pike Place, where nathan got his "daily dozen" donuts and i got some gorgeous flowers.


one of the many flower stands in the market.


then we hopped back on the ferry and back into real life. though it was nice to get away for a bit, it's always nice to come home, too.

thanks for looking!

his and hers.

a friend of mine recently asked me if i would be able to duplicate some pillows that she found on etsy for her friend's wedding shower. after looking at them, i decided they looked simple enough to make.

pillows from etsy:

(from seller HAWThome, retail $65)

pillows that i made:




jen said that her friend's bedding was navy, so she asked if i could do navy pillows with white writing. i used a navy blue bottomweight for the pillowcase and some white wool felt for the letters. (if you have never used wool felt, you MUST try it. once you experience it's deliciousness, you will never go back to the cheap, polyester sheets.) i did an envelope style back, which is easy-peasy. i am very pleased with how they turned out.....i hope jen and her friend love them too! (and, i made them for about $55 less than what they would have cost!)

thanks for looking!